The pilot project, led by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture and the Boston Housing Authority, is intended to activate a city-owned parcel while a larger permanent development—combining affordable housing and 40,000 square feet of music rehearsal space—moves through a lengthy design and financing process. The city is using $1.25 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds originally earmarked for demolition to build out the warehouse. Architecture firm ISA is leading the design.

The city unveiled the plans at a public meeting on Oct. 29, drawing a mix of enthusiasm and concern from residents and artists.

“We were hearing a steady drumbeat from artists about the need for space now, and also a real desire from the community to co-create the types of artist and musical spaces that we need,” said Boston Housing Authority administrator Kenzie Bok.

The property has a fraught history. In 2022, developer IQHQ moved to evict hundreds of musicians from the Sound Museum, a large rehearsal complex at 155 North Beacon St. After an outcry, the city approved IQHQ’s life sciences campus plan on the condition that the developer donate 290 North Beacon St. to the city. Boston accepted the parcel with a commitment to build 40,000 square feet of music rehearsal space—the same amount lost when the Sound Museum closed.

Since then, the life sciences market has cooled and no lab building has materialized at the former Sound Museum site. Plans for 290 North Beacon St. have also progressed slowly. In 2024, the city announced it would partner with the Boston Housing Authority to include affordable housing, a move that helped financing but raised concerns among former Sound Museum tenants about musicians practicing loudly near future residents.

The temporary studios will not be fully soundproofed, a detail that has revived those worries.

“My worst fear is it just becomes a place for food trucks and murals. And I’m sorry, but that is not what the music scene in Boston needs more of,” said Somerville musician and voice teacher Ajda Snyder, who was displaced from the Sound Museum. “We need rehearsal space, affordable rehearsal space.”

Snyder said she appreciates the city’s effort to activate the site but questioned whether uninsulated studios would serve the musicians the project was meant to help. “If it’s not going to be soundproof, it’s not really doing anything to help the people that it was intended to help,” she said.

Others at the meeting welcomed the plan. “We’re really excited about this,” said Lizzie Torres of Allston Village Main Streets and the civic group Boston Artist Impact. “This is a really great use of space that isn’t super being used right now and making it useful, so we really, really appreciate that.”

City officials frame the pilot as a chance to test configurations and booking systems before committing to a permanent design. “It’s an opportunity for us to test these ideas out so when we do make a major long-term commitment, we actually have a lot more evidence and research to back it up,” said Joseph Henry, the city’s chief of arts and culture.

Henry reiterated the city’s commitment to the 40,000 square feet of permanent rehearsal space but said the pilot will accommodate multiple uses beyond music. “I think this is not only a pilot for the music rehearsal space, but really a pilot for the role of arts and culture in the neighborhood,” he said. “The budget isn’t so extensive that we could build out an entire music rehearsal space, so we’re being pragmatic to make sure that we are able to meet many needs.” He added that the city will “obviously always prioritize the needs of musicians.”

Ami Bennitt, a leader of the arts advocacy group Art Stays Here, said she worries that priority could slip. “The reason why 290 North Beacon exists is because we advocated for it as mitigation for displacing hundreds of musicians from the Sound Museum,” Bennitt said. “I feel that it’s my responsibility, Art Stays Here’s responsibility, to ensure that what this was originally earmarked for is what it’s going to be. If it’s going to be more than that, great. Awesome. That’s wonderful. But I don’t want to lose sight of the original promise.”

Construction on the warehouse conversion is already underway and is on track to be completed in December. The city will release a request for proposals to select an operator, with studios expected to open next summer if the timeline holds.